For over half a century, Americans have paid into the Medicare system with the expectation that they will have access to healthcare in retirement. For those 65-plus, Medicare provides more affordable health coverage where private insurance would cost seniors out of the market.

I strongly support Sue Mackey Andrews for Maine Senate District 4. I've known and worked with Sue for over 20 years. Her commitment and passion on behalf of families in Piscataquis, Somerset and Penobscot counties are well established.

Don't let Rep. Bruce Poliquin buy his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is sitting on about $3 million that he intends to use to do just that. He has been a poor representative for the people of Maine, showing time and time again that he is a party creature with little or no interest in you and me and the problems we face in Maine.

As Americans, we have the resources and compassion to rise to this crisis for our fellow human beings. Learn more about the refugees at our Mexican border and how we can help by attending Keeping Families Together at the Thompson Free Library from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 5 in Dover-Foxcroft.

Before I moved to Sangerville 44 years ago. I worked as a custodian in a K-6 grade school and then I went and worked in a 7-8 grade school. In both schools I saw some very sad and depressed students. The younger children did not understand why their mother or father was not coming home anymore and the older boys and girls became very angry and some needed anger management. Children are the biggest losers. Very sad.

President Donald Trump is taking quite a risk if he succeeds in putting an anti-pro choice judge on the Supreme Court. He faces the fact that the big majority of women in this country support a woman's right to choose.

I met Jared Golden on several occasions while he ran in the primary. He struck me as being astute and forthright in his apprehension of the problems facing America and the people of Maine.

Thank you to the Bangor Daily News for the recent editorial on LD 1666, which the Legislature just passed to make proficiency-based diplomas an option for Maine schools, rather than a mandate. This would allow Maine schools a little more local control, rather than having to serve another unwieldy state mandate.

Access to and options around health care impacts our daily lives in ways large and small. For rural Mainers, this is especially true. I am working with Maine Family Planning to host an interactive and family-friendly civic engagement event at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 11 at the Commons at Central Hall in Dover-Foxcroft to address these very questions.

We in Maine enjoy being able to see moose and bear, and go camping, fishing, hiking and hunting, especially in remote wilderness areas. A big reason is that Maine’s longstanding “adjacency policy” serves the Unorganized Territory and our state well. Large tracts of north country have been protected from sprawling development, where we can still “get away from it all,” and where animals needing large wilderness areas can survive.

To the Editor; The 2018 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival has successfully concluded and on behalf of the Center Theatre and the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce we wanted to thank everyone involved for their help and support.

AARPMaine and our more than 230,000 members would like to extend our congratulations and best wishes to all the candidates running in the general election in November. We would also like to remind everyone that November is not that far away. By far the biggest and most robust voting bloc in the state is that of Mainers over the age of 50.

I offer praise to Bangor's Peace and Justice Center for showing the just released documentary “Awake” that shows the efforts of Water Protectors at the North Dakota Standing Rock Sioux Nation. The video exposes violent actions of the North Dakota National Guard, sheriff department, and hired mercenaries who worked for the oil pipeline company throughout 2016 and 2017.

As a new resident of Maine, I am dumbfounded at the recent legalization of marijuana in Maine. Everyone agrees that there is an opioid crisis in this state and around the country. So how does legalizing marijuana make any sense? It doesn't.

This week the SAD 41 community lost a valued board member and friend. Sheila Ellis passed away on May 31 after a battle with cancer. Sheila was a long-time member of the SAD 41 Board of Directors. She began her service on the board in April of 2008 and remained a member until the day she died.

This spring I have realized once again just how lucky I am to live in Dover-Foxcroft. Although I have retired from my medical practice, I am now devoting most of my “working hours” toward making life better for the people of our area.

Central Maine Power won't address the over charging of power bills for January and February 2018, a time when other customers saw unusually high bills, prompting a Maine Public Utilities Commission investigation.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Maine legislature could get along in order to get things done in Augusta? Well, you may think it’s not possible, but I would argue that here in Maine we have a unique chance to make that happen. In fact, I believe we are at a significant turning point in American politics, and Maine could lead the way. Unfortunately, we have to overcome persisting resistance from those who don’t want to give up their power or control over the Maine legislature. But on June 12 we have the chance to finally put these career politicians in their rightful place, out of office.